PURPOSE To explore the possibility of the c-erbB2 oncogene antisense probe labeled with superparamagnetic iron oxide (SPIO) nanoparticles as a target contrast agent for magnetic resonance (MR) imaging whose morphology was observed with atomic force microscopy (AFM), and its efficiency was examined by MR imaging. METHODS The c-erbB2 oncogene antisense probe labeled with SPIO was synthesized by...

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) has evolved from the originally morphological imaging technique to a powerful and multifunctional technique for manipulating and detecting the interactions between molecules at nanometer resolution. However, AFM cannot provide the precise information of synchronized molecular groups and has many shortcomings in the aspects of determining the mechanism of the intera...

A model providing a semi-quantitative account for the magnetic behavior of Co nanoparticles embedded in a CoO matrix is presented. The results confirm that exchange coupling at the interface between FM and AFM nanostructures, could provide an extra source of magnetic anisotropy, leading to thermal stability of the FM nanoparticles. It is shown that perpendicular coupling between the AFM and FM ...

A method is presented to indirectly measure and shorten carbon nantoubes grown from the tips of atomic force microscope (AFM) probes. The measurement component exploits the nanotubes ability to elastically buckle and requires only those signals and actuators available on a standard AFM. The shortening operation is facilitated by electric arcing using a conducting niobium substrate. The shorteni...

Three-dimensional atom probe tomography (APT) is successfully used to analyze the near-apex regions of an atomic force microscope (AFM) tip. Atom scale material structure and chemistry from APT analysis for standard silicon AFM tips and silicon AFM tips coated with a thin film of Cu is presented. Comparison of the thin film data with that observed using transmission electron microscopy indicate...

Reproducible images of uncoated DNA in the atomic force microscope (AFM) have been obtained by imaging plasmid DNA on mica in n-propanol. Specially sharpened AFM tips give images with reproducible features several nanometers in size along the DNA. Plasmids can be dissected in propanol by increasing the force applied by the AFM tip at selected locations.

The principal habitats of immature Orthopodomyia alba and Orthopodomyia signifera are tree holes, though they are occasionally encountered in artificial containers. We collected 929 Or. alba and 17 Or. signifera from 2 plastic trash cans, 2 scrap tires, and a tree hole. All collections were made in an urban residential area in central Illinois.

The common morning glory (Ipomoea purpurea) is an annual vine native to Central and Southern Mexico. The genetics of flower color polymorphisms and interactions with the biotic environment have been extensively studied in I. purpurea and in its sister species I. nil. In this study, we examine nucleotide sequence polymorphism in 11 loci, 9 of which are known to participate in a pathway that prod...

A survey was carried out to establish the status of rat infestation and recent rat control practices in oil palm plantations in Peninsular Malaysia. Rattus tiomanicus (Miller) constitutes a major rat species (68%), followed by Rattus argentiventer (Robinson and Kloss), (46%) and Rattus rattus diardii (L.), (28%). Although 75% of estates did not consider rats as a serious problem, the damage est...

Liposomes serve as models for cells and show increasing applications in medical and nonmedical fields. Unilamellar vesicles are prepared from multilamellar vesicle (MLV) dispersions either by sonication or extrusion. The shape stability of liposomes is important in the understanding of membrane fusion, as well as in drug delivery and gene therapy. Therefore it has been the subject of numerous t...